Two Squids, Just for You
by Kailoa
Summary: In first year, a shy and timid Lily Evans signed a magical contract, preventing her from dating anyone in her house. Now in sixth year, James Potter begins to change, and she finds herself attracted to him. What now?
1. Cyn's Mistake

Two Squids, Just for You

_Title will make sense later, I swear. It's another Marauders based fic, more LJ than my other one (Sirius's Top Ten). Please review and let me know what you think._

_Basic Summary__: In first year, a shy and timid Lily Evans signed a magical contract, preventing her from dating anyone in her house. Thus far, it's been simple enough to honour the contract, but when James Potter becomes less-prattish, and Lily develops feelings for him, what will she do??_

_Disclaimer: All right, the idea of an 'untouchable' (as far as I know) goes completely to Ruth3, and it's absolutely brilliant. I'm in love with the concept, and considering she hasn't updated since late December (2003), I thought I'd have a run at it. So, major plotline credit goes to her, everything else is just from my brain, aside from J.K. Rowling's characters._

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**Chapter 1: Cyn's Mistake**

Cynthia Brown rolled over in her half-sleep for the fourth time in the past minute, restless with guilt. It had been over five years now, but it was only now that her mistake was causing other people pain, and truly taking an effect on her friends, especially Lily.

_'You can't date within your own house, so no one from Gryffindor...'_

It was one of those things that Cynthia knew now she would regret, but she had been so childish as a first year, a brat. She didn't know Lily Evans then, so why would she have cared?

_'You'll be popular, and everyone will love you…'_

She could remember that moment vividly; she had replayed it several times in her head already. Lily's innocent face and eager-to-please smile were imprinted in her mind forever, and she hated it.

It was hopeless to try and sleep, so Cynthia gave up, her soft blue eyes flickering open and adjusting to the darkness that surrounded her. Brushing a strand of long, dirty blond hair from her face, she pushed the heavy quilt off her, and climbed to the edge of her double-sized bed, slipping on a pair of fluffy pink slippers before stepping down onto the cool floor.

Without thinking about it, she did what she normally did every time she couldn't sleep since around the beginning of second year. She left her dormitory and sleeping friends, walking down the steps into an empty common room draped in red and gold. Garbage and food littered the floor, but as tired as she was, Cynthia managed to navigate her slippers through the mess, and up the boys' dormitory stairwell, stopping at a landing in front of a dark oak door, labeled '6th Year', with a piece of parchment spellotaped beneath it, reading 'Marauders' Lair. Ye be warned.'

Cynthia smirked, and pushed the door softly, allowing it to creak open before entering the dark room herself. Her eyes well adjusted to the darkness, Cynthia made her way effortlessly toward the bed she knew Sirius Black occupied. She drew the curtains back, before slapping him across the top of his black-hair head.

"Wha?" Sirius's face lifted from the pillow and looked around, completely disorientated. His long, jet black hair was plastered to his face, and sticking up at odd angles, resembling his best mate James's hair uncannily.

"Looking quite nice there, Sirius." Cynthia said in a mocking tone, a smile plastered across her tanned face.

"Cyn?" Sirius groaned, slowly sitting himself up in his bed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep, Siribunny!" Cyn whined, using the nickname her mother had given Sirius when they were younger, just to pull his strings. Of course, it worked, and Sirius hopped out of bed, retrieved an invisibility cloak from a trunk across the room, and led Cynthia out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and out the portrait hole doorway. Once outside in the corridor, Sirius flung the cloak over them, making them invisible to the human eye.

This was a tradition for the two whenever Cynthia couldn't sleep. She'd wake Sirius, and he'd take her down to the kitchens for hot chocolate and a chat. Not many people at Hogwarts, the school they both attended, knew of this sensitive side of Sirius Black.

Cynthia Brown was born into one of the oldest Wizarding families in Britain, and had met Sirius at the tender age of seven through her mother. She grew up having her every wish attended to, and taught that she was better than the rest, molding her into a bitchy, spoiled, self-interested girl who believed she was superior to others. Sirius had grown up in the Most Noble House of Black, easily several centuries older than Cynthia's family. However, he didn't take to his family's ideals concerning muggle-born wizards, and had run away only a summer ago, now in residence with the Potters.

Both Sirius and Cynthia were very popular at Hogwarts, both being members of Gryffindor house and in the same year. Sirius was a member of the self-titled group, the Marauders, which consisted of himself, his best mate James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, three other boys in his year. The Marauders were infamous pranksters, every girl wanted them and every boy wanted to be them. And Sirius knew it. Cynthia, as a friend of the Marauders and also being very beautiful, was also exceptionally popular – every boy wanted her, and most of the girls hated and envied her, since she was such a bitch.

However, proximity to Lily had caused Cynthia to become much nicer, at least when Lily was present, and a tad more considerate towards others' feelings.

"So what's wrong now, Cyn?" Sirius asked as they reached the kitchens, and he tickled the pear in a portrait, which swung open to reveal the vast kitchens of Hogwarts, and several house elves. Sirius pulled the cloak off them, messing up their bed-head even more.

"I dunno. I just can't sleep." Cynthia lied. She knew what was bugging her, but she definitely couldn't tell Sirius, it was against the rules of the magical contract she had made Lily sign in first year. She could remember it vividly.

_She had strutted into the Great Hall in the line of first years, beaming proudly and knowingly as the other first years looked about the room in awe. The bewitched ceiling, floating candles – Cynthia had seen it all. Her father was on the Board of Governors for the school, she'd stayed at Hogwarts several times during the summer. The sorting had flown by, since she was one of the first to try on the old hat, and so she sat at the Gryffindor table until two other first year girls, Alice Prewett and Lily Evans, joined her._

_"Hello!" Alice said brightly, sliding into a seat across from Cynthia. "I'm Alice Prewett, and this is Lily Evans."_

_Lily had given a weak nod as a greeting, blushing bashfully and sliding onto the bench next to Alice._

_"I'm Cynthia. Brown." Cynthia had offered carelessly, flipping her hand upwards boredly._

_Alice smiled awkwardly, Lily remained silent, and it was then that Cynthia developed that accursed thought. She realized she could have some fun with this Lily Evans, who was so shy she would never succeed at Hogwarts._

_"Want to do something fun, Lily?" Cynthia asked innocently, a mischievous grin flitting across her face._

_Lily shrugged quietly, so Cynthia continued. "Do you want to become an 'Untouchable'?"_

_"An 'untouchable'? What's that?" Lily asked timidly, confused._

_"My mother used to tell me about them as a child. There hasn't been one at Hogwarts for about twenty years now. They sign a magically binding contract, and cannot date anyone in their house. But, as compensation of sorts, they become extremely popular, and everyone knows them." Cynthia explained, a fake smile plastered across her lips._

_"I don't like the sound of that…" Alice warned softly, but Lily nodded, silently agreeing._

_Cynthia had conjured up the contract by the next morning, and Lily hadn't hesitated to sign it._

She understood now, after becoming friends with Lily that very day, why Lily had signed it. Lily was a muggle-born and knew no one and nothing about the magical world, except for what she had read in her schoolbooks. Lily was a shy girl, and the concept of being popular was both foreign and exciting.

Under the influence of Cynthia and the warm support of Alice, Lily had opened up and escaped her shyness, and Cynthia had learned what a kind, thoughtful girl she had manipulated. Spending more time with Lily, Cynthia discovered Lily to be a very caring, understanding person, who was also very opinionated and a great listener, but under her sweet exterior she had a fiery temper.

The magical contract had compensated her of course, and Lily was one of the most popular girls in the school, not only because of her looks, but also her stunning personality. Lily was indeed pretty though. She had long auburn hair that fell in soft layers down past her shoulders and framed her oval face, accentuating her porcelain-like complexion and her vivid green eyes. Lily hadn't needed the contract to become popular, but she was bound to it. It hadn't really affected Lily that much, until she developed a crush on her fellow prefect, Remus Lupin last year, and James Potter started chasing after her.

James Potter was the only son of Harold and Eve Potter, Sirius's best mate and fellow Marauder. Known within Hogwarts as a 'desirable' boy, he was tall, but well built, with untamable black hair, tanned skin, and soft hazel eyes.

Since the beginning of fifth year, James had been very open about his feelings toward Lily – he asked her out every day, pranked and hexed people in front of her to impress her, and pushed her buttons just to get a rise out of her. Lily found him exceptionally irritating, deciding he was only after what he couldn't have, but Cynthia knew that James's feelings were deeper than that. He had admitted it to her, drunk after a party celebrating a Quidditch Cup victory. He was in love with Lily.

"Here. Drink." Sirius said with a sleepy smile, offering Cynthia a mug of hot chocolate that had just been delivered by a crew of excited house elves.

"Thanks." Cynthia murmured, taking the mug and taking a small sip.

"So you're not going to tell me what's wrong, are you?" Sirius asked, though it was more a statement of fact than a question.

"I would, but I'm not… allowed." Cynthia offered tactfully.

"Allowed? Who's stopping you?" Sirius asked, confused and amused simultaneously, and too tired to take anything seriously.

"A magical contract." Cynthia replied, hiding her sadness under a superior tone.

"Ooh, aren't we condescending today!" Sirius taunted playfully, taking a sip from his own mug.

"I'm amazed you used such a big word, Siribunny. Condescending… wow, that's thirteen letters long!" Cynthia replied, wearing a look of utter astonishment.

"Oh, shut it, Cyn." Sirius muttered, glaring at her.

Cynthia just smiled, knowing not to continue with their playful fight, as Sirius was obviously tired. But their playful banter had removed 'Lily the Untouchable' from Cynthia's thoughts for the moment. There was nothing like taunting Sirius to get your mind off things.

After finishing their mugs of hot chocolate and chatting about the upcoming quidditch match versus Hufflepuff, the duo returned to Gryffindor Tower, parted at the girls' stairwell, and fell asleep for a few more hours, before Cynthia was awakened, promptly at seven o'clock, by Alice Prewett.

Alice was Cynthia's other best friend, and she, Lily and Cynthia formed the most popular girls in Gryffindor house, if not the school. And they were only sixth years. Alice was the peacekeeper of the group, since both Cynthia and Lily could be stubborn at times. She was a playful girl, quiet, and Lily and Cynthia's confidante. Alice was an amazing listener, and when the other two girls had problems, Alice was there to listen and offer moral support.

"Morning Cynny!" Alice sang happily, jumping on Cynthia's bed, causing Cynthia to bounce up also, and groan in response.

Alice was a morning person. Cynthia and Lily were not. She could hear the shower on the girls' bathroom; meaning Lily was already up, though probably not awake. Alice, on the other hand, looked like she had been up for hours. Her soft blond hair was in ringlets, which were now disheveled, a bright smile on her face caused her brown eyes to twinkle.

"Al… It is seven o'clock in the morning." Cynthia muttered, as if that statement alone gave a veritable response.

To Alice, though, it didn't. "So?"

"It's Saturday." Cynthia added patiently. "We don't have class."

"So?" Alice repeated, dropping herself onto Cynthia's bed.

"I could sleep for another four hours!" Cynthia exclaimed, looking at Alice as if she were insane.

"You could," Alice agreed, "But then you'd miss the match. And watching Gilderoy."

"Bugger! I forgot!"

Immediately Cynthia threw the bedspread off her legs, grabbing some clothes from her trunk, and dashing toward the bathroom, nearly knocking Lily to the floor as she flew by. Lily laughed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Finally got her up?"

"Yeah. Had to jump on her though. We're going to be late." Alice muttered, glaring at the door. Since fifth year, Alice had been dating Frank Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor in their year, and missing him play (as a Chaser on Gryffindor's quidditch team) was not to her liking. They still had to have breakfast.

"Missing more time for Potter to annoy me? Damn." Lily replied sarcastically.

"Lils, he's not that bad."

"I know, Al, but… I can't." Lily sighed softly, giving her friend a quiet smile. "Sometimes I wish I could tell him he's wasting his time…"

"I know, but you can't." Alice finished, returning her friend's smile, before lightening the mood a bit. "Lils, you can't wear just that, you'll freeze!"

"You're probably right." Lily agreed, looking down at her attire, a pair of jeans and a white tank top. "Can I borrow your green jumper?"

"Sure." Alice replied, tossing the green sweater over to Lily just as Cynthia barged back into the room.

"I'm ready! Hurry, we'll be late for breakfast!" Cynthia screeched, yanking her friends' arms and leading them down the stairs, into the Gryffindor common room.

The girls hurried down to the Great Hall, Alice fixing Cynthia's hair as they clambered down the main stair well. The corridors were pretty much deserted, as everyone was at breakfast, chatting with excitement and anticipation for the quidditch match that would take place today. Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The girls entered the hall, Alice and Lily ignoring the looks of admiration from all around the hall, Cynthia basking in them, and slid into the only remaining seats across from the Marauders.

"Morning, Lily. You're looking lovely this morning." James Potter said with a cocky grin, looking up from a letter.

"Sod off, Potter." Lily replied sharply, helping herself to some bacon. _You're wasting your time. I can't._

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Qu'est-ce que tu pense? Please review and let me know what you think! Once more, please read the disclaimer. Idea of an 'untouchable' goes completely to Ruth3… My own little take on the idea.


	2. Then What Is It?

Two Squids, Just for You _Disclaimer: All right, the idea of an 'untouchable' (as far as I know) goes completely to Ruth3, and it's absolutely brilliant. I'm in love with the concept, and considering she hasn't updated since late December (2003), I thought I'd have a run at it. So, major plotline credit goes to her, everything else is just from my brain, aside from J.K. Rowling's characters._

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**Chapter 2: Then What Is It?**

"Gryffindor Seeker James Potter dives… Has he seen the snitch?" Ludo Bagman, a sport-addicted seventh year's voice boomed out across the pitch, resulting in a loud roar of approval from the Gryffindor crowd. All eyes fell upon James, who was almost vertical, plunging toward the earth, a glint of determination in his hazel eyes.

Of course, from where Lily sat with Cynthia and Alice, she couldn't see his serious expression, or the look of concentration in his eyes. All she saw was Potter, the pain in her side, playing a stupid game to get more attention, not that his swelled head needed it. '_But he is cute…'_

Only a few meters from the grass of the pitch, James pulled up on his broom subconsciously, his only thoughts lying on the snitch that was fluttering in front of him. His bent knees brushed the grass softly, and James tuned out all sounds, his arm reaching out to the glinting ball of gold only inches from his fingertips. _'Almost there…'_

"AND HE'S GOT IT! JAMES POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH FOR GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR WINS, 240 – 60!" Lugo Bagman bellowed, as James held the small ball in his hand, raising it above his head and smiling gallantly. "GRYFFINDOR REMAINS UNDEFEATED!" Bagman continued to rant happily, but cheers from Gryffindor drowned out his voice, even thought it was bewitched to several times its regular, already quite loud volume. Lily, Cynthia, and Alice cheered loudly, and as Gryffindors spilled out onto the pitch to congratulate the team, they followed, Alice, anxious to see Frank, who played Chaser.

The crowd surrounding the quidditch team broke to make way for Cynthia, who strode purposefully through to Sirius, whom she embraced in a light hug. Alice and Lily followed, Alice flinging herself onto Frank. Lily stood at the edges of the crowd, and James immediately caught her eye.

"Do I get a victory snog too, Lily?" James asked slyly, gesturing to Alice and Frank, who looked like their mouths were welded together. Alice and Frank were, though not purposely, huge in the public displays of affection department. They were both so smitten with one another that they often just forgot where they were.

"Sorry, Potter, not while the giant squid is still available. He's a much better kisser than you are." Lily replied coolly, wiping the grin from James's face as the crowd snickered slightly.

Everyone was used to these conversations – James being cheeky or asking Lily out (or both), and Lily shooting him down. Normally, James would just shake it off, grinning or adding another comment just to infuriate Lily further, but this time, James's smug grin did not return. Instead, a weak smile flitted across his lips, before he silently pushed through the crowd. Lily watched him go in confusion. _'What happened to Potter?'_

Sirius laughed loudly to break the awkward silence, chuckling to himself. "Silly James! Keen to get to the party, obviously." Sirius offered as an explanation, his tone loud and falsely cheerful. He gave a wide smile, before following James through the crowd, the other two Marauders, Remus and Peter, trailing after. The crowd stayed in stunned silence for a few seconds, before happy chatter broke out, and the crowds made their way back to the castle, ready for a party.

The party in the Gryffindor common room was rocking. Muggle music of all kinds bounced off the soundproofed walls, and even the first years were dancing, or eating. Sirius and Remus had returned from the kitchens levitating at least enough food for a meal for the entire school, and had laid it all out on a piece of parchment transfigured into a buffet table by one of the seventh years. Everyone was too busy screaming or having fun to notice that James was missing, but Sirius did, and though Sirius didn't know at the time, Lily did too.

"Prongs? What are you doing?" Sirius asked in an impatient tone, discovering his friend sitting solemnly on his bed in their dormitory. "There are easily forty girls down there, willing to do anything for you, and you're sitting up here."

"Why doesn't she like me?" James asked, looking at Sirius as though he had an answer.

Sirius frowned. "Who? Lily?"

James nodded, looking to a photo he had propped up on his nightstand. It was a picture of Lily, from the train ride this September. He and Sirius had gone about the train, snapping random pictures of people, and when James flung the compartment door open, Sirius had managed to get a shot of Lily smiling. The picture version of Lily smiled brilliantly and waved at James.

"I dunno, mate. I really think you oughta get over this crush of yours though."

"It's not a crush." James replied defiantly.

"Then what is it, Prongsie? An obsession? A fascination? An obsession? A fetish for redheads? Please don't tell me it's – "

"I think its love, Padfoot." James interrupted dreamily, gazing at Lily's picture longingly.

"I was going to ask you not to tell me that. I think the fetish concept was a bit more realistic."

"I'm in love with her, Padfoot!" James said brightly, the realization dawning on him.

"Prongs! Love is such a strong word! And you know NOTHING about Lily Evans, aside from her love for books, her temper, and what she looks like!" Sirius protested, aghast at his friend's queer behavior.

This silenced James, who regained his forlorn look, and slumped back down onto his bed. Sirius could hear the music blaring from the common room, and longing to return to the party, and cheer up his friend, he spoke gently. "Alright, Jamesie. We'll call it a redhead fetish for now, until you really get to know Lily."

"And how will I do that? She hates me, didn't you hear what she said at the pitch?" James replied disdainfully.

"Well, we'll start with that. She obviously doesn't like your big head and cockiness. It rubs her the wrong way." Sirius replied, sounding exceptionally intelligent for Sirius.

"Then what?"

"Once she's realized you're not that big of a prick, she might let you spend sometime with her." Sirius explained, looking very clued-up and somber, which was a rare situation for Sirius.

"You think that'll work?" James asked hopefully, perking up slightly.

"Why not? And then, after you know her, you'll discover that really, it's just a fetish you've got going on right now. You'll find yourself a new, less bothersome girlfriend, and we can go back to having fun!" Sirius exclaimed happily, before yanking James in the direction of the door. "Now COME ON, the party awaits!"

As soon as the two boys reached the bottom of the stairs, a crowd of admiring girls swarmed them, asking the boys to dance, or for a snog, or if the boys would marry them. James was surprised to see many of them in yellow robes, and he wasn't the only one.

"What are Hufflepuffs doing at a Gryffindor victory party?" Cynthia asked distastefully, taking a small bite into the Cauldron Cake she was holding loosely in her fingers. She was planning to slip it down Pettigrew's collar the next time he danced by with that third year Hufflepuff.

"Dunno. Guess they wanted to congratulate James." Alice suggested, sitting on the couch next to Lily, who had a book propped open, and was reading intently.

"Alice. Their own house lost to us. Why would they celebrate their house losing?" Cynthia asked, looking very irritated, and smashing her Cauldron Cake on top the of a Hufflepuff girl's head.

"Hey!" The girl protested, turning to face Cynthia, looking very annoyed. "Watch it!"

"Shouldn't you be in your own house common room?" Cynthia asked in a sinister way, staring the girl down. The girl squeaked and fled, disappearing in the dancing crowds again.

"Cyn!" Lily protested, looking up from her book with a horrified expression. "That was rude!"

"Should a prefect be sending the Hufflepuffs back? I was merely assisting you." Cynthia replied nonchalantly.

Lily frowned with disapproval for a few moments, before Alice sighed.

"So, Lily, nice comment toward James… After the match." Joanne McGarey said with a smile, breaking the silence and sitting down on Alice's other side with a friendly smile. She was in their year, and shared a dormitory with Cynthia, Alice, Lily, and another girl named Margie Stevens.

"Thanks. I s'ppose. Although he actually seemed a tad hurt by it." Lily admitted thoughtfully.

"Could it be Lily doesn't completely hate James Potter?" Cynthia taunted, wearing an expression of disbelief.

"I didn't say that! I merely mentioned that he actually seemed to take that comment to heart. He's an arrogant prat, who's head is so swelled I'm surprised he can fit in the castle." Lily retorted, a hint of colour appearing on her cheeks.

Silence fell on the group, the other three girls knowing it was best not to push Lily's buttons and get her all riled up.

"I think I'll head up to the dormitory. Could I borrow your book again, Jo? It's quite good." Alice asked, looking at Jo, who nodded, and then to Lily and Cynthia, to see if they would accompany her.

"We'll come." Cynthia decided. "It's so boring – "

"My favourite ladies, leaving already?" Sirius asked, breaking into the conversation with a puppy-dog look. "Please don't go." He whined, whimpering at Cynthia.

Cynthia groaned. "It's boring, Siri."

"Well, I believe we can fix that." Sirius replied with a smug grin, turning to look over his shoulder and yell out across the common room. "JAMES POTTER! REMUS LUPIN! HERE! NOW!"

Alice laughed, but within a few seconds, both James and Remus Lupin pushed their way through the crowd, looking flustered but pleased by presence of the girls. James gave Lily a quick smile, and Lily was surprised by the sincerity it seemed to have.

"Okay. Dancing is fun. So you dance, then you have fun. People having fun are never bored." Sirius said brightly, herding James and Remus closer.

"Wow, Sirius, I never knew." Cynthia replied sarcastically, quirking an eyebrow.

Sirius ignored Cynthia, and took Alice's hand, pulling her up from the couch, and pushing her towards Remus's general direction. "There. You dance with Remus, Lily dances with James…" Sirius narrated his actions, pulling Lily up and pushing her towards James. "And I'll dance with Cynthia and Jo."

Without allowing any responses from the girls, the three boys dragged them out onto the dance floor. Lily and James were actually being civil toward one another, achieving this by not speaking, and doing a simple two step, holding hands loosely. Sirius caught their smiles and grinned, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the record player crackling in the corner. Cynthia stopped dancing for a moment to follow is gaze, and the guilt returned with a pang in her chest. Lily looked like she was having a lot of fun, she was smiling brightly, and James was watching her the way that one of Cynthia's older brothers, Josh looked at his girlfriend.

With a flick of Sirius's wand, the music died and was replaced by a slower song. No one complained, and immediately paired off. James looked at Lily awkwardly. She had dropped his hand, and was looking in the other direction.

"Dance with me, Evans?" he asked softly, tapping her shoulder so she spun around and faced him.

Lily frowned slightly, but nodded politely, and wrapped her arms around his neck and the two began swaying softly.

"Can I ask you something?" James asked after a moment of silence.

"Sure." Lily replied nonchalantly, expecting him to make a cocky comment or ask her out.

"Why do you hate me?"

Lily was silent in shock for a few seconds, and cursed the fact that they weren't dancing closely, and she had to look into his soft hazel eyes.

"I don't hate you, Potter." Lily answered simply, hoping to avoid the subject.

"Then why do you do that? Call me Potter? Get mad whenever I'm around?" James persisted.

"I don't know why I call you Potter. Habit, I s'ppose. And I'm not always mad when you're around. I don't know James, sometimes you just rub me the wrong way, and I've got an awful temper that I can't really control." Lily answered honestly, surprising herself.

James smiled. "If I try not to 'rub you the wrong way', d'you think we could be mates?"

"Don't see why not." Lily replied with a forced smile. '_But only friends.'_ She added mentally. It was easy to honour the contract when you found all the boys in your house to be stuck-up prats, but if James acted like this more often, she wasn't sure how she could react.

"The sooner he realizes she's not worth it, the better." Sirius muttered, watching them as he danced with Cynthia.

Cynthia frowned, and followed his glance once more to find Lily and James. "What do you mean?"

"He says he's in love with her. I helped him realize that he doesn't know her. Hopefully he'll get bored in the 'getting to know her' stage and give up the idea completely. No bird is worth that much effort." Sirius explained absent-mindedly.

"Excuse me, Black?" Cynthia roared, pushing away from him and looking at Sirius in disgust. "Love is worth it! And Lily is worth it too! You are just a deluded, womanizing, self-absorbed… PRAT!" Cynthia yelled, before slapping Sirius across the face in her anger, and storming up the stairs to her dormitory, ignoring the fact that the entire common room had stopped dancing, and were watching her and Sirius.

"I'd better go talk with her." Lily explained with a smile as she pulled herself from his grip, hiding a tinge of disappointment in an apologetic smile. "See you later, P-James."

"Good night, Lily." James said with a smile, in ecstasy. She had called him James.


	3. For Now

**Two Squids, Just for You**

_Disclaimer: All right, the idea of an 'untouchable' (as far as I know) goes completely to Ruth3, and it's absolutely brilliant. I'm in love with the concept, and considering she hasn't updated since late December (2003), I thought I'd have a run at it. So, major plotline credit goes to her, everything else is just from my brain, aside from J.K. Rowling's characters._

**Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, you're awesome and I love feedback! Anything! If you don't like it, tell me (and why you don't, preferably)!**

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**Chapter 3: For Now**

"Can you believe him? He's is such a…" Cynthia was at a loss of words describing Sirius's behavior. Jo just nodded silently, indicating she knew what Cynthia meant. Sirius Black was indescribable. He had no set parameters in terms of personality – he could be a total idiot and an arrogant jerk, which he chose to be most often, or a relatively nice, understanding person.

"Jerk?" Lily supplied as she joined Jo and Cynthia, entering the dormitory from the common room, which was still relatively silent.

"Yes." Cynthia agreed. "And he's just so…"

"Conceited?" Lily supplied again. Cynthia smiled.

"Yeah."

"High and mighty?" Jo offered.

"Yes. Exactly." Cynthia agreed again. "Stupid prat, he is."

"Reminds me of you." Margie Stevens remarked, the other Gryffindor sixth year who shared a dormitory with Jo, Lily, Alice, and Cynthia. Margie easily wasn't the nicest person, and it was known throughout the school that she and Cynthia loathed each other. 'Loath' was a word Margie would use, however, so Cynthia had removed it from her vocabulary and replaced it with 'I have the deepest hatred and utmost disgust'.

"Was I speaking to you, Conolly?" Cynthia snapped, glaring at Margie, who lay on her bed at the far end of the dormitory. "Since when does your opinion matter to me?"

"Cyn, don't bother." Lily murmured softly. Immediately Cynthia's face softened, and she turned her back to Margie.

"Gonna listen to that Mudblood?" Margie taunted, smirking slightly. Cynthia whirled around, her face contorted in rage. She stalked over to Margie's bed, and stared down at the girl, her hands on her hips.

"Don't you dare call Lily a Mudblood!" Cynthia screeched, looking as though she was trying to restrain herself from attacking Margie physically. "Insult me all you want, Stevens, but don't you EVER insult my friends again!"

Cynthia had changed, and this action proved it. If in a situation such as this during her first year at Hogwarts, Cynthia would have acted completely different way. She would have laughed about the lack of insults toward her – 'Run out of insults for me, then, have you?' or gotten mad at Margie for implying she couldn't make her own decisions. Cynthia was still bitchy, but at least she cared about her friends. A lot.

Margie backed off slightly, grabbing her wand and yanking the drapes around her bed, and Cynthia returned to friends. Jo, Alice, and Lily continued a more hushed conversation about Black's antics, pretending the incident hadn't occurred. They happened rather often, Margie and Cynthia getting into huge rows about whatever differences they had. It was best just to continue on.

"Well, Cyn, he's just being him." Alice concluded. Since Cynthia would forgive Sirius in a few days, there really wasn't a point to continually ranting about him.

"Yeah, I s'ppose. Doesn't mean he has to be a sexist pig though…" Cynthia agreed, before her soft blue eyes flickered mischievously and fell upon Lily. "So, you danced with Potter…" Cynthia smiled innocently, with a taunting tone in her voice as she spoke.

Lily shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

"What's he like??" Jo squealed, the only one of the four who didn't know about the contract. Jo had arrived at Hogwarts in their second year, having moved to England with her family from Italy. She had been born in London, and moved to Italy when she was four, before moving back to England when her father got a job at the Ministry.

"He's a prat. A nice prat." Lily replied huffily.

"Ooh, touchy, are we?" Jo taunted playfully.

Lily smiled weakly. "I'm not even going to bother. We're not going anywhere."

"Not even as friends, Lils?" Cynthia asked quietly, a pang of guilt emerging in her chest. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt for you to be friends, would it?"

"No, I s'ppose not." Lily admitted. _Unless I fall for him. But I won't._

* * *

The next morning the door of the sixth year girls' dormitory swung open and banged against the wall behind it loudly.

Alice sat up immediately, trying to distinguish through her blurred vision who had just knocked the door down. Her blonde hair was a mess of frizzy curls and her eyes were puffy.

"Black? Potter?" Alice asked in disbelief, as two blurry figures approached her. One had a mop of untamable black hair, the other with long, smooth black hair, and both were very tall and well built. Even though Alice didn't know them that well, it wasn't difficult to pick out the two most 'desirable' boys in her year.

"Mornin' Prewett!" Sirius greeted cheerily, before his eyes widened as they landed on her body. She was in a bra and boxer shorts, and because she was sitting, her blankets had fallen off her chest, exposing a white bra, patterned with pink and red hearts. "Holy frig Prewett! You're dating Longbottom when you can look like that?"

Immediately Alice blushed a deep red, and pulled her blankets back up over her chest. Sirius and James laughed, before being interrupted by a sleepy and somewhat grumpy Cynthia.

"Did you just say 'holy frig', Black?" Cynthia asked, pushing herself from the bed and joining James and Sirius, who were standing around Alice's bed. Ignoring the fact that Sirius was gaping at her sleepwear, she looked at him expectantly. Unlike Alice, Cynthia was not embarrassed about being in a bra and pajama bottoms – she showed off her lacy blue bra with pride.

"Err… Yeah. James is making me work on my swearing." Sirius explained, not even trying to hide the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes off Cynthia's chest.

Cynthia's eyes narrowed, remembering she was mad at Sirius, and immediately went to her wardrobe, where she retrieved a silk bathrobe and wrapped it around her, glaring at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius protested. "Just takin' a peek."

Cynthia opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted by James, who was looking hopefully in the direction of Lily's bed. "Does Lily sleep in the same… attire that you two do?"

"Nah." Cynthia said with a smile. "Normally something a little more… classy."

A groan emitted from Lily's corner of the room, and the curtains surrounding her four-poster separated, revealing Lily, dressed in a silk emerald green nightie that only fell to mid-thigh, and was held onto her petite form by two black lace straps that were less than an inch wide. Her eyes widened as they fell upon James and Sirius, both of whom looked gob smacked.

"What the hell are you doing here?!?" Lily demanded, brushing a strand of hair from her face before putting her hands on her hips.

"We came to take you down to breakfast." Sirius replied innocently, James nodding dumbly in agreement. "Not bad Evans."

"I'm never wearing this again, Cyn, remind me." Lily said coolly, trying to keep herself from blushing. No one was supposed to see her in this, especially not Black or P-James.

"But you look so nice, Lily." James protested, breaking away from his stupor.

Lily smiled evenly. "Whatever, James."

"So can we escort you lovely ladies to the Great Hall for some breakfast?" Sirius asked politely, obviously trying to get himself back into Cynthia's good books.

"No. We have to change." Cynthia replied casually.

"I don't see a problem with that, do you, Jamesie?" Sirius replied cheekily. James just blushed slightly, causing Lily to frown. _Did James Potter just blush? Is he even capable of being embarrassed?_

"Get out, Black. If you must, you can wait for us in the common room." Cynthia snapped, sending the boys glares that drove them from the room.

"How did they even get up the stairs?" Alice wondered aloud, as she pulled off her blankets and began looking through her wardrobe.

"Al, they're _Marauders_, they can do almost anything at this school if they put their mind to it." Lily replied in an it's-so-obvious tone.

"Yeah Al," Cyn added in a tone identical to Lily's as she pulled a blue sweater over her head. "They're _Marauders_. Duh."

"I finally understand why you like Evans so much, Jamesie-boy." Sirius muttered quietly as he James trailed the girls down the corridors to breakfast. The girls, who were chatting animatedly only a few feet ahead, had their arms linked and were giggling, Alice having lost her bedhead, Lily no longer in a silk nightie but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and Cynthia still in a bad mood.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked, a bewildered look crossing his face.

"She's bloody gorgeous, that's what I mean." Sirius replied, quite loudly, causing both Lily and Cynthia to glance back at them with skeptical looks. Sirius smiled innocently, before jogging to catch up with them, swinging an arm over Cynthia's shoulders. Cynthia glared at him, and pushed his arm off, before increasing her speed.

"Oh, come on Cyn!" Sirius protested, chasing after her and ignoring the looks he was receiving as they entered the Great Hall.

"Don't think I've forgotten what a sexist pig you are, Black." Cynthia replied coolly, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table and wearing a look of distaste as Sirius sat next to her.

"Oh, come on Cyn!" Sirius repeated. "You know I didn't mean it! I never mean things I say!"

"Oh, shut it. I'm not in the mood to hear this from you." Cynthia replied, heaving some home fries onto her plate.

"You're NEVER in the mood to 'hear this from' me!" Sirius replied angrily, the volume in his voice rising.

"And I NEVER will be, Black." Cynthia replied, before childishly turning in her seat to face Alice, who sat on her other side. Sirius groaned and turned away from her, only to be met by James's backside as he conversed with Lily.

"So you like Quidditch?" James exclaimed. "I never saw you as that sort of person!"

"Just because I don't talk about it all the time, doesn't mean I don't like it. It's a great game to watch." Lily defended.

"Favourite team?"

"Appleby Arrows."

"Why?" James asked, trying not to sound too excited. He _loved_ the Appleby Arrows.

"I dunno, I s'ppose because they're a well rounded team. I think Fabian is an amazing captain. Why, what's your favourite team?"

"You mean Fabian Prewett?" James asked, looking star-struck. "Fabian PREWETT, the captain of my all time favourite team.

"You like the Arrows then too?" Lily laughed. "Yes, Fabian PREWETT." She clarified, imitating James almost exactly. "He's quite nice too, very modest."

"You've _met_ him?"

This sent Lily into a burst of laughter. "You've never realized," Lily choked out as she gasped for air between bouts of laughter, "That Alice _happens_ to have the same last name? Implying they _might_ be related?"

"They're related?!?"

"He's her older brother!" Lily exclaimed. "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are we Potter?"

"Sharpest knife in the drawer?" James asked with a confused face. "Where'd you get that from?"

"It's a muggle expression."

"You're muggle-born?"

"You didn't know? You haven't noticed Slytherins calling me 'mudblood' in the corridors?" Lily retorted defensively.

"They do? Which ones?" James asked, his confusion melting into anger. "I'll hex 'em all to Surrey and back."

Lily smiled slightly. "Don't bother, James. It doesn't bother me much anymore. They can think what they want."

James grunted and shoveled a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. "So – "

"Finish your mouthful first, James." Lily interrupted with a look of distaste. Seeing food in his mouth was gross enough, but she wasn't pleased that she was sounding like his mother.

"Yes Mum." James chided as he swallowed, receiving a glare from Lily. "So, as I was saying, if you're muggle-born, your family members are muggles."

"That's normally what the term implies, yes James." Lily replied, hiding a smile. _I hope it's just because it's early and he's really not this stupid._

James nodded and took another spoonful of oatmeal, swallowing before speaking. "My parents are aurors. Both went to Hogwarts."

Lily nodded. "Any brothers or sisters?"

"No. Just me. And Sirius. He lives with my family during the summer, since he got kicked out."

"His parents kicked him out?" Lily asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. They're all for that no muggle-borns crap." James replied, looking sour. "But what about you, any siblings?"

"Two. An older sister, Petunia, and a younger sister, Rose." Lily explained. "My mum has a thing for flowers."

"Yours is the prettiest. Not as pretty as you, though." James replied without thinking.

"What?"

"I meant, your flower, lilies. They're the prettiest out of the three."

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Petunia' you say? What's she like?" James asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, she's awful. She hates Rose and me because we're witches, and she makes my life miserable during the holidays. She calls me a 'freak' just because I can do magic."

"That's horrible, Lily. Really." James said sympathetically.

Lily smiled weakly. "She's not half as bad as her boyfriend. He's just… _really_ horrible."

James laughed. He couldn't believe he was sitting next to Lily Evans, having a decent conversation with her. She looked like she was actually enjoying herself, and he knew that _he_ was.

The bell rang for the start of classes, and James hopped up before offering a hand to Lily, and pulling her up. Lily smiled as he did, their faces only a few inches apart. James could feel her breath on his chin, and felt himself leaning into to kiss her, but she quickly swept away, waving briefly as she left the hall.

_Just friends for now, James._ James reminded himself as he gathered both his and Lily's things. In her rush to escape him, she had forgotten her bag, but luckily they had Transfiguration together first, so he could give it to her. _Just friends… for now._


	4. More About James

**Two Squids, Just for You**

**It's finally here! Another chapter! I don't like this one as much, it's kind of a transition chapter, and next chapter you find out exactly where the title of the story comes from. No guessing, don't want to give it away for everyone else. I'm also writing a new story, and am looking for beta-readers. Anyone??**

-----

**Chapter 4: More About James**

"What do you think of James, Lily?" Remus asked as he and Lily strolled the corridors a few nights later. The moon was only a crescent shape, and thus Remus was feeling quite well and in the mood for a bit of snooping.

"I'm not sure Remus." Lily answered softly, her green eyes were staring straight ahead, glazed over and distracted.

Remus glanced at his watch. It was only nine thirty, and they had patrols till eleven. He assumed that Lily had quite a bit on her mind to be so silent, and was kind of hoping she would tell him about it, so time wouldn't go by so slowly. They were close, he and Lily. Not as close as Cynthia and Sirius when they weren't mad at each other (which they still were), but they had been good friends since first year, when Lily first ran into Remus on the platform. He liked to think of himself as her older brother of sorts.

"Talk to me." Remus stated simply.

It was like a dam had burst, and words began spilling out of Lily's mouth at an alarming rate. "I _really_ don't know Remus, I mean, I used to think he was just an ignorant, egotistical, bullying jerk, but now we're trying to be friends, and he's nice, and funny... I just don't _get_ him. Is that why you're friends with him? He's different when everyone's not watching?"

Remus grinned. So Lily _had_ noticed a slight change in James' persona. Well, truly it wasn't a change; she was just seeing a different side of him. "Yeah, he is. He's himself when only people he trusts and cares about are around."

"Why isn't he himself all the time?" Lily asked.

Remus was lost for words. It would be somewhat hard to explain to Lily, who was a muggle-born, and he couldn't use that as an excuse without offending her. "Err... well, James's family has high expectations."

"Of what?" Though she had insulted, yelled, and shared a common room with him for five years, Lily realized she knew very little about James. And she insulted him constantly, when she knew nothing about him, it obviously wasn't fair of her to judge. It was then that she decided to apologize to him the next time she saw him.

"Of him. Of his friends." Remus answered. "He grew up learning that he was better than everyone else, and for his first four years at Hogwarts, he believed it."

"And then..." Lily said, indicating for him to continue.

"His sister Laura got sick. Before she died, she broke free from the family and did everything they ever told her not to. She told James that he _wasn't_ better than everyone else and that 'that Lily Evans girl' was completely right when she – you I mean – told him he was an arrogant prat." Remus said softly, as they turned the corner and began walking down the Charms corridor.

"And he still acted like one afterwards because?"

"Keep up the concept that nothing was wrong with him, and that Laura's death didn't affect him." Remus said solemnly.

"Oh."

Silence engulfed the pair for a moment, Lily staring at the floor lost in thought once more, Remus staring at the side wall, catching fleeting glances of the moon as they passed each window. Lily glanced up and caught Remus watching the moon.

"When's the next full moon?" she asked softly.

Remus grimaced. "Not for a while. Happened just last week-end. But I still feel like such a monster."

Lily had first guessed of Remus's condition in the third year after a lesson on werewolves, and he had confirmed it for her in the fifth year, when they were both made prefects and he had to excuse himself from rounds and meetings once a month. Lily, having grown up a muggle held no prejudice towards him, so they had grown closer.

"You're not a monster, Remus. And soon they'll find a cure, don't you worry." Lily said with a reassuring smile, linking arms with Remus. Remus smiled half-heartedly for a moment, before silence reigned over the two again.

"You know how jealous James would be?" Remus asked with an amused tone after a few minutes.

"Jealous about what?"

"This." Remus said, lifting his arm, which was linked with hers. Lily snorted.

"I doubt that, Remus. It's just this dumb infatuation he has, he'll get over it." Lily said knowledgably.

"I don't think it's a dumb infatuation, Lils." Remus said cautiously. "And if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were developing feelings for him too."

Lily sighed softly. "I can't Remus."

"Why not? I know he can be a prat, but James is really a great guy." Remus protested, untwining their arms and making Lily stop walking and face him by grabbing her shoulders.

"I know he is, Remus." Lily said quietly, looking toward the floor yet again.

"Then why aren't you giving him a chance?!" the volume and intensity of Remus's voice was rising steadily, and Lily's face was beginning to crease with fear.

"I _can't_, Remus." Lily said quietly.

"WHY THE BLOODY HELL NOT?!?" Remus demanded.

"I said I _can't_, Remus." Lily insisted, keeping her voice even, before checking her watch. "I think we're done now Remus."

------  
  
Remus entered the sixth-year boys dormitory to find it relatively deserted, except for James. Frank was obviously off somewhere with Alice Prewett, and he wasn't sure where or what Sirius and Peter were up to, and frankly he didn't care. He was still teeming from his (rather one-sided) argument with Lily, but James didn't seem to notice. In fact, James Potter had his nose in a _book_. A rather large, dusty, probably illegal book.

"What you reading, Prongs?" Remus asked as he sunk into his bed across the room, not really caring but hoping to distract him from what Lily had said.

"A book." James replied casually.

"I can see that." Remus replied, somewhat sarcastically. "What _kind_ of book?"

"A Transfiguration book." James answered as casually as possible. James was easily the best Transfiguration student in the year, let alone the school; he had a natural knack for it, so why he would need a book was already indicating something.

"A _Transfiguration_ book?" Remus repeated. "Why would you need a book on your best subject?"

"This is going to be slightly harder than I thought." James admitted.

"What is?"

"This spell I'm looking up. It's something I'm going to do for Lily." James said sheepishly.

"I think you should give up on Lily, James." Remus said quietly. He was treading on weak ground; James was very emotional about Lily and normally Sirius would talk to James about Lily since Remus was slightly biased in his 'big brother' role.

"Pardon?" James asked, looking unconvinced. Normally Remus would give his relative consent about James's feelings, the same with Sirius, and suddenly both were backing out on him.

"I think you should give up on Lily, James." Remus repeated.

"Why?" James asked, with a look that mixed anger and disappointment on his face.

"Because I don't think she'll ever consider you more than just a friend." Remus muttered inaudibly.

Not hearing Remus's response, James decided he didn't want to, and that he needed the advice of one of Lily's friends. Picking up his book, he left the dormitory and journeyed down to the common room, where Joanne sat quietly by the fire, reading, as always. He slumped down into the armchair across from hers, startling her.

Clutching her chest, eyes widened, Jo visibly relaxed when she realized who it was exactly who had sat down. "Jesus, you fucking scared me!"

James grinned. For being the quietest of Lily's group of friends, Jo did have quite the mouth on her. "Sorry bout that. I wanted to talk to – "

"You just missed Lily." Jo said automatically.

"No, I wanted to talk to – " James began again.

"Cyn refuses to talk to anyone who is friends with Sirius Black." Jo responded again quickly.

"I actually wanted to talk to _you_, or Alice." James chuckled.

Jo smiled awkwardly. "Oops. What about?"

"Lily." James answered simply. Jo put on a mock grimace.

"_Her_? _Again_?"

"Do you think she likes me?" James asked seriously.

"I think... she's warming to you." Jo answered honestly.

"So you think I stand a chance?" James asked earnestly, pleased with her first answer.

Not knowing about Lily's status as an untouchable, Jo nodded with a small smile. "I think you might, Potter. But make sure you don't screw up acting like a prick again."

One of the dormitory doors creaked open and within a few moments, Lily could be seen climbing down the girl's stairwell. Her eyes were slightly red, her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, and in a pair of boxers and a tank top. Both Jo and James looked up to see her, but she only noticed Jo.

"Jo, you coming up?" Lily called as she reached the foot of the stairs. Seeing James her smile faltered slightly, but he was too busy looking her up and down to notice. Jo frowned slightly, seeing James might already be ruining his chances.

"Err... yeah, I s'ppose." Jo gave a quick smile to James. "Goodnight James."

Jo stood and walked up the stairs, Lily turning to follow.

"Lily! Could I err... talk to you for a minute?" James asked lamely.

"Uh, sure. About what, P-James?" Lily asked, turning and joining James by the fire in Jo's old seat. She was still in her old habit of calling James by his last name, and as she tried to correct it, it had become an odd mixture.

"Do you believe in love?" James asked bluntly.

Lily frowned slightly. "I think so. Under the right circumstances, yeah, I guess."

"How long does it take to fall in love with someone?"

"I'm not sure, P-James, it really depends. I mean, you probably have to know a lot about the person..."

"Like what?" James persisted, ignoring how awkward Lily looked.

"I'm not sure. What they like, I s'ppose?" Lily offered.

"I guess that makes sense." James concluded.

Lily smiled. "Is that all you wanted, James?"

"Yeah, thanks Lily."

Lily pulled herself up from her chair and began to climb the dormitory stairs.

"Lily!"

Lily leaned over the banister to look at James questioningly.

"What's your favourite type of Bertie Botts?"

"Err... Not telling."

"_Not telling_?" James asked in amusement. "It can't be that bad."

"Yes, it can." Lily said, blushing slightly. '_Don't you dare blush Lily Evans, don't you dare. You do not like this boy. No feelings other than friendship. None.'_

"Come on, tell me. It'll be our secret." James said with a grin, not noticing the portrait hole swing open.

"Fine. I like... the grass flavoured ones. Happy?" Lily asked, her face now a shade of crimson.

"Yes, I am."

"Good night James."

"Good night, Lily."

Lily soon disappeared up in the girls' dormitories, and James sat, deep in thought, by the fire for a few moments longer, before he too went up to bed. It was then that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew removed James's invisibility cloak, both still looking gob smacked.

"Peter, I do believe that James feelings for Lily are beyond a redhead fetish now." Sirius announced solemnly.

"How do you know?" Peter asked cluelessly.

"He's still _completely_ infatuated after learning that she likes _grass_ flavoured Bertie Botts. _Who_ likes grass flavoured Bertie Botts? For chrissakes!"

"I like the grass ones. And the cool caramel-coloured ones." Peter protested.

"The _caramel_-coloured ones?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Yeah. They're yummy!" Peter defended.

"Wormtail, man, those are _earwax_ flavoured"

------

"Ooh Cynthia!" Sirius called cheerily as he entered the Great Hall the next morning. Cynthia grimaced. Not only was it Sirius, who she was still very mad at, but also, being the 'none-morning' person that she was, Sirius was acting much to chipper for her.

Jo and Alice giggled, while Lily smiled.

"What, Black?" Cynthia replied sharply as Sirius dropped onto the bench next to her and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"I have something _very_ funny to tell you." Sirius said with a grin.

"Oh?" Cynthia replied nonchalantly as she reached for some more bacon.

"Yup. I bet you can't guess what Wormtail's favourite flavour of Bertie Botts is." Sirius said, grinning broadly.

"By Wormtail you mean Peter, correct?" Lily asked from across the table, joining the conversation after finishing a letter from her parents.

"Yes, Evans, get with it." Sirius replied, pretending to be annoyed. Lily rolled her eyes. "Now guess!"

"It's too early to guess, enlighten me, Black." Cynthia said in a bored tone.

Sirius paused for dramatic effect. "_Earwax_!"

All four girls and Sirius broke out into hysteric laughter, Cynthia choking on the water she had just swallowed, Alice hitting the table and causing the plates to rattle slightly, and Lily and Jo hunched over. There was nothing like laughing at Peter's stupidity to get your friend to forgive you and have a good laugh.

Peter entered the hall only moments later, sending the five into a fresh bout of laughter before Remus joined them and got them to shut up, only to spare what was left of Peter's ego.

"So, Cynthia, is your dearest mother coming to my dearest mother's party this week-end?" Sirius asked, a broad smile still playing on his lips. Most of the girls in the hall were now staring at him hungrily, but for once he didn't notice. He didn't want to get on Cynthia's bad side again already.

"No, I'm afraid they've had a bit of a spat." Cynthia answered.

"Tragic, really." Sirius said solemnly.

"Yes," Cynthia agreed. "Almost as tragic as Peter's taste in sweets."

Cynthia and Sirius chuckled to themselves once more, but Alice, Jo, Remus, and Lily were able to contain themselves for Peter's sake. The poor boy was still bright red in the face and muttering wildly about different people having different tastes, unaware that no one was listening to him.

A small boy who was probably in first year tapped on Lily's shoulder. He was short, with bright red hair and a vast number of freckles, and he swung his arms as he spoke, obviously nervous. "Lily Evans?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" Lily asked, switching into Prefect mode much to the dismay of the now re-united Cynthia and Sirius.

"I'm Bill Weasley. I'm meant to ask for your help in Charms." The boy said quietly, his voice shaking out the words.

"Of course, Bill, I'd love to. How's Wednesday evenings after dinner?" Lily asked kindly, mentally running through her calendar.

"That would be good." Bill said with a shy smile.

"Then I'll see you then, alright?"

With a quick thank-you, Bill scurried off to join his first-year friends, and Lily had a feeling of satisfaction, helping someone in need. Cynthia shook her head distastefully at Lily's pleased expression.

"Honestly, Lily." Cynthia said, shaking her head and helping herself to more pumpkin juice. "I don't know how you get fulfillment out of helping some thick first years learn a levitating spell."

"I'm helping them, Cyn. Knowing they'll do better in a subject because of me makes me feel helpful." Lily reasoned.

"If that floats your boat." Cyn muttered.

James entered the hall quite late into breakfast, having slept in after staying up half the night compiling a list of things he knew about Lily. It now had a mighty 20 tidbits of information, including her favourite Quidditch team, favourite flavour of Bertie Botts, what her family was like, and other things he had learned from their conversation. He sat down next to Lily and gave her a quick smile before helping himself to some eggs and bacon.

"James," Lily said quietly as the rest of the group moved on to other topics of discussion, such as Peter's hopelessness at Astronomy.

"Yeah?" James replied, looking up from his breakfast.

"I wanted to apologize." Lily said slowly.

James frowned. "For what?"

"For calling you names and judging you when I didn't really know anything about you." Lily said softly, causing James's face to light up in a smile.

"No, really Lily, most of it I deserved." James insisted.

"But it was really daft of me – " Lily began, before James placed a finger on her lips to silence her.

"I'll forgive you if you finally give me a chance and go out with me."

Lily's eyes widened. She could feel her heart wrenching about in her chest. James was looking at her so hopefully, and she truly did want to give him a chance, he was getting so much better... "I'm afraid you can't forgive me, James. I'm sorry, I can't." Lily stood abruptly, grabbing her bags and swiftly exiting the hall. Alice looked at James curiously, before gathering her things and following.

She found Lily hunched against the wall up by the Prefect's Bathroom, sobbing quietly. Joining her friend on the floor, Alice rubbed Lily's back quietly, waiting for Lily to be ready to speak. After a few minutes of Lily sobbing, Alice spoke softly.

"What's wrong Lils?"

"James, he asked me out again... And this time I actually wanted to say yes, but I can't!" Lily said sadly, looking at Alice and wiping the tears from her eyes. "The worst part is, I can't tell him why I can't go out with him."

"Aww Lils, I'm sorry." Alice pulled her friend into a hug, and they remained in such a position for most of first period Potions. Alice whispered softly to Lily, while Lily sobbed and tried to remember exactly what the contract had said, and how she might find a loophole to telling James about it.


	5. Two Squids, Just for You

**Two Squids, Just for You**

**This one's shorter than the others, but I like the way it worked out, so I'm going to leave it – and the title will finally make sense. I know I'm a horrible updater, please forgive me. whimpers Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. The fic isn't over yet though.**

-----

"People _can_ get over love, Prongs." Sirius insisted as he and James sat in their dormitory, James looking dark and depressed, and Sirius trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, come on. What you need is a new girl."

"There's only one girl for me, Padfoot." James replied morosely. "And she'll never think of me as more than a friend."

"Come on, mate! It's not like she's perfect!"

"She _is_!" James persisted.

"You know nothing about her!" Sirius replied, getting somewhat angry. Not at James, of course, at Lily. He hated how one girl could make his friend as happy as though the Appleby Arrows were winning the England Cup (which they _never_ did) and as low as though Voldemort had been elected Minister for Magic.

"I do now!" James insisted. "I know she likes the Appleby Arrows and Charms class. I know she follows the rules because her mum would have a fit if she ever got detention. I know she likes Shakespeare's comedies and anything by Louisa May Alcott or George Orwell. I know she likes grass-flavored Berti Bott's – " Sirius cringed. "And dancing in the rain. I know she loves the winter best because she likes to make snowmen with her dad when she goes home for the holidays. She dreams of being a medi-witch or an auror and making a difference."

Sirius rolled his eyes resignedly. "God, you really are whipped, aren't you? And the girl won't even go out with you."

"I just don't get why." James said sadly, shaking his head at the picture of Lily, which still adorned his dresser.

"Any ideas at all?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Well, one." James admitted. "I think it's because... if she went out with me, she'd be going against everything she ever said."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "I could see that. She's probably afraid that no one would take her seriously. I mean, she said she'd rather date the Giant Squid instead of you, and if she caved on that, what wouldn't she cave on?"

"Exactly!" James said, happy someone understood.

"My that sounded intelligent, Padfoot." Remus remarked as he entered the dormitory. "Scheming about Lily, of course?"

"What else?" Sirius replied. "But we _think_ we've figured it out."

Remus nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. "Any ideas on how you could fix that, James?"

"Sorta. I'd still have to do a bit of research though."

"It's more complicated than becoming illegal animagi then, is it?" Remus asked dryly.

James grinned. "Nah. But if I do '_research_' in the library, chances are, I can get a nice hour or so of Evans-eye candy."

Sirius chuckled. "Then what the _hell_ are you waiting for, Potter?"

James smiled and left the dormitory without another word. Sirius smiled, pleased with himself, and went off to have a shower. Remus sat on his bed, looking at the window.

"_I can't, Remus."_

Lily's words echoed through his head, taunting him with what seemed to be an unsolvable problem. _Why?_ If she gave him one date and decided not to pursue anything with James, he'd probably lay off her. She knew that, right? What exactly was stopping her from going on one measly date with James Potter? She was exactly like the untouchables his mum used to tell him about as a child, popular girls who'd signed contracts refusing to allow relationships between –

"That's it!" Remus shouted aloud. "She's an _untouchable_!"

"Woop-dee-hoo, well done Moony." Peter replied sleepily from his bed.

-----

"Are you _sure_?" Lily asked desperately, as she and Alice sat in the library a few weeks later, skimming through various books on magical contracts.

Alice nodded gravely, shutting a monstrously large book that was about a foot wide. "Nothing in this one."

Lily sighed, pushing herself away from the desk, which was laden in several volumes, each at least two inches thick. Apparently magical contracts were quite common, and quite complex. For every different _type_ of contract there were at least twenty different situations they could be put in. "This is hopeless."

"It's fine, we'll find _something_." Alice said, trying to reassure her friend as she, herself looked skeptical. To emphasize her point, she pulled another book toward her, _Magical Contracts: A Shortened Explanation and Analysis_, flipping it back to the index. Her eyes widened almost immediately, but Lily missed her friend's reaction as she stared out the window morosely.

"_Lily!_" Alice hissed. "I _found_ it."

Immediately Lily jumped from her seat and joined Alice's side of the table, sliding into the seat next to Alice. "Where?"

Alice pointed a pink-painted fingernail at a listing in the index.

_Untouchables:_

_Work related (friends, dating, love) see pages 1934 – 1967;_

_School related (friends, dating, love) see pages 2000 – 2078;_

Lily frowned. "How many types of Untouchables _are there_?"

"Looks like there's two." Alice replied intelligently. "There's school or work related, then there's sub-categories."

Lily nodded. "But which sub-category am I? Dating or..."

Alice looked at Lily incredulously. "You think you... that you... you _love_ him?"

Lily shrugged, her face turning a deep crimson. "Well, I dunno, I mean..."

"Lily! That's _fantastic_!"

"It is?" Lily looked astonished.

"Yes!" Alice insisted. "Now you can't make fun of me and Frank!"

Lily's look of astonishment diminished into a look of hurt and shock. "That's the _only_ good reason?"

"Of course not!" Alice insisted happily, either missing her friend's upset look or ignoring it. "I mean, it's love! I'm so glad you can finally experience it! And especially with someone like James. I mean, come on Lily, he's been in love with you since he was twelve. This is so _fantastic_!"

"What is?" Cynthia asked coolly as she slid into the seat across from Alice, which used to be occupied by Lily. The library had instantly become more crowded as Cynthia had walked in, both male _and_ female students were staring at the gorgeous girl, the boys holding looks of lust and the girls looks of admiration.

"Lily!" Alice replied instantly, smiling almost unbearably. "She's in _love_, Cynthia!"

Cynthia's eyebrow rose slightly, and she looked at Lily curiously. "With who?"

Lily looked down immediately under her friend's imperious glare. "Err..."

"James Potter!" Alice said, without a care in the world and obviously too happy for Lily to be able to take in the situation.

Cynthia's face instantly darkened, and the weight of guilt fell back onto her shoulders. Refusing to let anyone see weakness, Cynthia smirked. "You're joking, right?"

A hurt look crossed Lily's face. "Would it be _that_ bad, Cyn?" she asked quietly.

Cynthia shook her head, continuing her heartless charade. "No. But come on, you could have chosen someone a _little_ better, Lily."

Lily's face of gloom faded into one of slight anger. "For one, _Cynthia_, I can't really choose who I fall in love with. Second, I don't see how you should be allowed to talk – the most serious relationship you've had with a boy is with Sirius Black!"

"Sirius and I are _friends_!" Cynthia protested crossly.

"Yes, and you _talk_ with one another! You _never_ do that with your boyfriends, all you do with them is snog!" Lily replied heatedly. Cynthia was silent, so Lily continued, the anger in voice growing. "And _third_, it's not like it really matters, since I couldn't date him anyways!"

Tossing a loose leaf of paper in the air in pure frustration, Lily stormed from the library, red hair flying, leaving her friends upset and, in Cynthia's case, feeling guilty.

"Well..." Alice said loudly, in hopes of ending the deafening silence Lily had left in her wake. "That went... well."

Cynthia frowned. "It's all my fault. I'm such an..."

"Outrageously gorgeous and stunning individual?" James suggested as he popped out from behind the shelves, holding a book open in one of his hands.

Immediately Alice's face went blank. "You didn't _hear_ our conversation, did you?"

James shook his head. "What conversation? Did I miss something exciting?"

"No." Cynthia replied sharply. "What are doing here anyway? When does a _Marauder_ come to the library?"

"When a Marauder is trying to impress a girl." James replied, a mischievous grin crossing his face.

"Oh?" Cynthia answered, implying he should continue.

"So I was thinking about _why_ Lily still won't go out with me," James explained. "And I realized it must be because of all the things she's said. It would be going against everything she's every said to me, you know, 'Sorry, Potter, not while the giant squid is still available.' That load of tosh."

"Okay then." Cynthia responded, sounding quite skeptical and wary of any idea that was forming in James's head.

"You'll understand later." James promised with a smile.

Cynthia gave another frank nod, as James too left the library. As soon as the door had shut behind him, Cynthia looked at Alice. "Bloody git should've given up."

Alice waved into the air to brush off the topic of James. "By the way, Cyn, what _kind_ of Untouchable _did_ you make Lily?"

"Err..." Cynthia paused for a moment, trying to recall. "A dating one, I think."

Alice beamed. "Perfect. So if they're really in love, James and Lily I mean, the Untouchable status shouldn't have any effect on Lily, right?"

Cynthia shrugged, trying to look casual despite the fact that her heart was beating rapidly in excitement. "I s'ppose."

"We've got to tell Lily then!" Alice shouted jovially, causing Cynthia to cringe.

"Must you be so loud, Alice?"

"For heavens sake, Cyn, couldn't you for once just let yourself be _happy_?" Alice replied indignantly, before skipping out of the library.

--------

"Lily, I want to show you something."

Lily looked up from her book to see James standing in front of her, a hand outstretched. She closed her book, nimbly folding the corner of the page to mark her place, before looking at him apprehensively. After a moment of silence, she sighed deeply. "Look, James... I'm so sorry. I can't go out with you, you see I'm an – "

Lily's voice disappeared, though her mouth was still moving. James frowned slightly, but ignored it, taking her hand and pulling her up, leading her from Gryffindor Tower. It was only after the fifth flight of stairs that Lily regained use of her voice.

"James..." she warned again, still allowing him to lead her, and secretly enjoying the feel of his hand around hers. James, however, ignored her, all the way out of the castle, leading her across the grounds until they reached the edge of the lake. The sky was a bright blue, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was rather warm too; a gentle breeze came grazing in from the lake, but nothing too severe. A blanket was laid out on the grass, and James promptly sat down on it.

"What are we doing, James?" Lily asked, her politeness barely hiding her curiosity.

"Squid watching." James replied nonchalantly.

Lily sighed and joined him on the blanket, staring out at the lake. "May I ask why?"

"I told you. I have something to show you." James replied secretively.

"_What_?" Lily asked impatiently, turning to look at him with frustration written across her face.

James smiled and pointed out at the water. Lily turned to face the water once more, following his sight line. The squid had broken the water's surface, orange tentacles thrusting into the air as if trying to grasp the sunlight. Lily smiled at the sight, until she realized that some of the tentacles were a purple colour. She frowned slightly, peering at the tentacles as they writhed about, making room for the body they were attached to. _Were there two different squids out there?_

She turned to James with a questioning look. "Are there two of them? Two squids?"

'_Sorry, Potter, not while the giant squid is still available.'_

James nodded slowly, gauging her reaction quietly. "Sadly, the giant squid is no longer available, Lily Evans."

Lily's face was full of inquisitiveness and anxiety. "Where did the other one come from? I mean, did you?"

"Yeah." James said, breaking his gaze from her to stare out at the lake. Judging by her expression, she was going to get pretty angry, and he wasn't in the mood to have his heart stomped on again. "Two squids, just for you."

Then Lily did something James Potter would have never expected. She leaned over and kissed him.


End file.
